Blog view

Cancer - Primary, Secondary....

  • Vijayarani Sivakumar

    • Published On - July 29, 2020

    What is cancer of unknown primary?

    This is a secondary cancer that has spread to a new location from somewhere else in the body. It's not clear where in the body it started, so the primary cancer is unknown.

    For most people diagnosed with cancer, the primary cancer is easy to identify. Doctors conduct tests to find out where the cancer started to grow and to see if it has spread.

    When cancer is found in one or more secondary sites but it is not clear from the test results where the cancer began, the cancer is usually known as cancer of unknown primary, or CUP. Health professionals may also call it metastasis of unknown origin (MUO), metastatic malignancy of unknown primary, or occult primary cancer.

    How can doctors tell it is a secondary cancer?

    To diagnose secondary cancer, a specialist doctor called a pathologist examines the cancer cells under a microscope. The pathologist can see that the cancer cells do not belong to or originate in the surrounding tissue, and this can be confirmed by further laboratory tests. With CUP, the cancer cells could possibly have come from a number of places but no primary cancer can be found.

     

    Types of CUP

    Adenocarcinoma
    • Adenocarcinoma develops from glandular cells, which form part of the lining of many organs.
    • Common primary sites include the breast, colon, prostate, stomach, pancreas, liver and lungs.
    • Adenocarcinoma makes up about 50% of CUP.

    Poorly differentiated carcinoma
    • This means there is enough detail to tell that the cells are a carcinoma, but there is not enough detail to work out the type of cancer.
    • About 30% of people with CUP have a poorly differentiated carcinoma.

    Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)
    • This carcinoma develops from squamous cells, which are thin, flat cells normally found on the surface of the skin or the lining of certain organs.
    • Common primary sites include the head and neck area, skin, esophagus, lungs, vagina and cervix.
    • SCC makes up about 10–15% of CUP.

    Undifferentiated neoplasm
    • Neoplasm is another word for tumor. In an undifferentiated neoplasm, the cells can be identified as cancerous, but it is not possible to work out whether they are a carcinoma, sarcoma, melanoma or another form of cancer.
    • About 5% of people with CUP have an undifferentiated neoplasm.

    Neuroendocrine carcinoma
    • This carcinoma develops from specialized nerve cells that sometimes produce hormones.
    • Common primary sites include the pancreas and gastrointestinal tract.
    • About 3% of people with CUP have a neuroendocrine carcinoma.

     




    TOP COMMENTS